07 October 2015

Press release

Response to prime minister's speech: 'confronting extremism'

Responding to the prime minister’s speech today David Landrum, director of advocacy at the Evangelical Alliance, said:

“It is right that we actively ‘rebuild Britain as an even greater country’ and take stringent measures to eradicate extremist ideology. However, it is vital that committed Christians are not labelled as extremists by those who may disagree with aspects of their faith.

“Any bill to tackle extremism must not undermine the very democracy that it seeks to protect. We would urge the prime minister to consult with all faith groups to ensure that historic freedoms of religion and belief are secured in the implementation of this bill.”

Media Enquiries

Notes to Editors

The Evangelical recently released a survey into British values which revealed that 81% of evangelical Christians think that policies designed to counter extremism may make it harder for Christians to express their faith in public.

The Evangelical Alliance

We are the largest and oldest body representing the UK’s two million evangelical Christians. For more than 165 years, we have been bringing Christians together and helping them listen to, and be heard by, the government, media and society. We’re here to connect people for a shared mission, whether it’s celebrating the Bible, making a difference in our communities or lobbying the government for a better society. From Skye to Southampton, from Coleraine to Cardiff, we work across 79 denominations, 3,500 churches, 750 organisations and thousands of individual members. And we're not just uniting Christians within the UK – we are a founding member of the World Evangelical Alliance, a global network of more than 600 million evangelical Christians. For more information, go to www.eauk.org.